


Making it Count

by ElectoMe



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Titanic Fusion, F/M, Minor Character Death, RMS Titanic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-19
Updated: 2016-11-28
Packaged: 2018-07-15 23:23:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7243030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElectoMe/pseuds/ElectoMe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peeta Mellark, an upstanding, painstakingly groomed man of high class boards the RMS Titanic with his fiancé, Glimmer Williams. Completely subservient to his mother's wishes, Peeta boards the ship with the complete intention of living his life under his mother's watchful eye. That is until he meets Katniss Everdeen, a girl who makes him realize that there is life beyond the one he has lead. </p><p>Katniss and Peeta meet Jack and Rose in this Titanic inspired fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: some lines may be pulled directly from the movie Titanic, but alas I am not the owner of said movie or The Hunger Games trilogy. It would be great if I did, but I am nothing but a mere peasant who spends her time dreaming of everlark in different situations and thus this fic was born. I hope you enjoy!

Prologue

_Katniss_

Behind my lids I see high ceilings, crystalline chandeliers, and finely polished wood. A dining room so grandiose and a ballroom that never ceased to steal my breath. My dress was as fine as my surroundings, my grungy street clothes replaced with ones woven of fine silk the color of the sea over which we sailed. At night, a midnight, almost inky blue; one that my eyes shone against with an almost ethereal glow. People as finely dressed as I was, even finer if I am being honest, with sophisticated personas to match. Something I lacked.

He never saw me as that though. Peeta was a gentleman, as pristine as one could imagine, finely groomed by the hands of an overbearing mother. Making him was one thing Mrs. Mellark did right, however. He was beautiful in every sense of the word, with his perfectly coiffed blonde hair slicked back behind his head, a tuxedo tailored to fit him like a second skin and a waistcoat that brought out the blue in his eyes. Even with all that, however, I adored him most when his shirt was untucked and his hair was tousled.

It wasn’t his outer appearance I loved the most, though it certainly helped. He was kind, more so than anyone I had ever met. He would play with the smaller children on board when their wealthy, first class parents had more important business to attend to. He found a way to be civil, even sometimes loving towards the mother that saw him as nothing more than an asset, something to groom and proceed to sell to the highest bidder. He accepted me, he loved me despite my dirt poor background and my third class ticket that I won rather than earned myself. He helped me from making a mistake that I would have regretted even though at the time I was no more than a stranger to him.

I spent three days aboard the RMS Titanic, the ship of dreams. Little did they know how that would blow up in their faces in such a catastrophic way. Still, despite everything, I would never forsake my time aboard that ship.

Now, the only way I can see the ship is through the rose glass of my dreams.

And I see everything. And I remember for a little while in those precious days, Peeta and I belonged to no one but each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I spent a lot of time contemplating this idea and I think it makes the most sense for Katniss to be Jack and Peeta, Rose simply because of their status and social standing in canon. Though there are some flaws in that plan as Rose and Katniss share that rebellious tendency and Jack and Peeta both have a talent in art, but you'll see that they retain those traits no matter the character that I originally identified them with. I promise it'll all make sense as the story progresses. You can find me at electome.tumblr.com if you want to talk!


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

_Katniss_

I have never played poker before in my life, never held a hand of cards for anything more complicated than a game of memory with my little sister. This is very different though, the rules make little sense to me and I find myself watching more than anything else. This whole thing was Gale’s idea. We have been wandering around the edges of England for the past several weeks. We currently find ourselves in Southampton and he is past ready to return home to his family. He goaded a pair of Swedish men who migrated into the pub a few minutes after we did into a game and after some reluctance they agreed, as if they had anything better to do from the beginning.

Originally, Gale had no intentions but to trick the men out of a few pounds. Since being in Europe, the two of us have had to get used to using this foreign currency. I still have a few dollars from home tucked into my boots, ones that I was able to snatch before I left, and ones that were left over after travel costs. It did not seem like the two Swedes had much more in the way of funds than Gale and I had though and I was beginning to wonder what exactly we could gain from this game.

I am holding my third deck of cards. After having nothing the first two rounds, a sad fact I had to learn from Gale as he tried to explain the rules to me as covertly as possible, we were winning but just barely. This was something that I could grasp as the man closest to me, with dirty blonde hair and a snaggletooth that is on clear display as he bites down hard on his bottom lip, his brow tensing in consternation. We, and by we I mean Gale, have already collected one pound from his friend and two from him. Considering that in the beginning, the two of us had only about five pounds collectively to our names, this fact excites us. Gale is practically buzzing beside me as he studies his hand while the two men across from us shout at each other in Swedish.

After the cards are dealt, Gale—stupidly—bet the last of our money as well as the whole of what we have gleaned from the two Swedes, pinning me with a look that told me he knew what he was doing but I did not believe that for a second. The men across from us deliberate for a second, trying to decide how exactly to up the ante when they had no money left. Snaggletooth’s friend is giving him a look similar to the one I had just given Gale, but it is evident who wins as he reaches into his pocket and produces two wrinkled sheets of paper. The word Titanic is printed in large black letters across the top of the pages.

“What is that?” Gale asks, eyeing the sheets instead of the men like they would disappear if he turned away. I am sure that he, like me, knows exactly what those papers are, but he will not believe it until he hears the words.

And just a moment later he is given what he asks. “Two tickets for the RMS Titanic.”

There is not a soul who has not heard about the Titanic. It has headlined nearly every newspaper that I have seen for weeks. The chatter I have overheard has only picked up the closer it gets for the ship to set sail on its maiden voyage. This was the ship that could not be sunk. So many elites were traveling on the ship on its way to New York City, my home. I never thought that I would have a chance to do the same, even a third class ticket was beyond our means when we had to think about eating every day to avoid rummaging through trash cans to find our net meal.

Apparently these two are better off than I had previously thought, because they were able to purchase those third class tickets that I could never afford, the same ones they were risking to bet in a game of poker with strangers.

“Isn’t that leaving today?” I ask.

“I would say in about half an hour.” Snaggletooth replies. Gale breaks his gaze with the tickets to look at me, his expression incredulous. I know what he is thinking. This is the ticket home he was looking for.

It seems like all of our eyes turn back to our respective hands simultaneously. “The moment of truth boys,” Gale mutters. He looks to me and adds, “And girl,” for my benefit. “Somebody’s life’s about to change.”

I do not really know what I have or at least what it is called—just three tens and two fives. I peek back up when I think no one is looking. My heartbeat picks up as Snaggletooth’s grin widens.

To anyone else Gale’s face may come across as impassive, but for someone who has known him for as long as I have, I can see the worry in his eyes. He clears his throat before looking up at me, our eyes meet for mere seconds before he is asking the men, “What do you have?”

The friend does not say anything as he throws down his cards, he has nothing. I cannot say the same for the other though. Snaggletooth lays down his cards. “Two pair.”

Gale’s eyes turn downcast as he mutters that he folds.

I take a second to stare at my cards before laying them down before me. The first thing I notice is the grin slowly fall from Snaggletooth’s face.

“Katniss,” Gale breathes, so suddenly that I think I have done something wrong. I snap my head in his direction. “That’s a full house.”

“What?”

“You won. You just won the game!”

Snaggletooth’s friend turns red, while the man himself just sits back with a look mixed with shock and horror. We had gathered a few spectators as we played and I can tell I was not the only one surprised at my luck.

The friend glares at me when I carefully take the tickets into my hands and Gale gathers the rest of the spoils. I think his anger is directed at me, but to my surprise he grabs Snaggletooth’s collar in his hand and punches him in the face.

Gale is not concerned with this for long and he tugs on my shoulder. “We have to go.”

“We’re really going back to America?” The thought fills me with as much dread as it does excitement.

“Not if we don’t make it to the dock in time.”

We don’t say anything else, he just grabs my arm and we run.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, future chapters will be longer and in the next chapter we'll meet Peeta! I'd love to hear any feedback (all good things I hope). I'm really excited about this storyline. Also, hello! I'm electome. Come find me at electome.tumblr.com


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_Peeta_

The dock is incredibly busy when our car pulls up. What I discover is a sea of men in suits and bowler hats. I open the door when the driver pulls to a stop, the ship is even larger than I imagined. Its massive hull commanding my attention as it blocks half of the sky from my lateral viewpoint. My smile widens as I turn my head to take more of it in, nothing I have ever seen has ever looked so grand.

Glimmer sticks her hand through the open doorway which I had just emerged from. I eye it for a second before fully comprehending what is expected of me. I do not have enough time to correct my mistake before I catch my mother’s glare pointed in my direction from deeper inside the vehicle. I take her delicately poised hand, clad in a pristine white glove and help her from the car. Cato, Glimmer’s brother, is already out on the other side guiding my mother and I have to keep myself from grimacing at the sickly sweet smile she gives him.

“I don’t see what all the fuss is about; it doesn’t look any bigger than the Mauretania.”

“Now Glimmer let’s hold off on any judgement until we see the interior.” I say to her, hoping she will not go on another one of her tirades. “The Titanic is over a hundred feet longer than the Mauretania.”

I can hear Cato bustling around giving instructions to one of the crew members hauling our bags on board. Collectively, we have enough items in our wardrobes to clothe the entire ship.

Glimmer pulls my attention back to her with a breathy laugh, the kind that hints that she has dismissed whatever I have said. “Dear, I’d think you would show more tolerance for your fiancé.”

Tolerance can only go so far. Our engagement is still so new that I still pause whenever she refers to me as her fiancé. The idea of being engaged at only nineteen years of age does not sit well. I had plans that did not involve settling down until my mid-twenties at least. Being engaged while I am still a teenager is something I never even imagined. But this is what my mother wanted and when she forced me to propose, I gave her no argument, she even bought me the ring. I suppose I should get used to the idea.

“Peeta Mellark, I’d kindly appreciate it if you’d stop daydreaming,” Glimmer chides.

I muster a smile to point in her direction. “Of course dear.”

Glimmer is not all bad, she cares for me. She was even excited when I’d proposed, clapping her hands giddily and throwing them around my shoulders. She is beautiful with blonde hair the color of honey and emerald green eyes. Her skin is just as smooth to the touch as it looks and her body is thin and lean. Even if I may not feel it presently, the love will come.

“We must be going,” Cato reminds us. The picture of a perfect gentleman as he cocks his arm to the side and allows my mother to hook her arm through it. As he begins leading her to where the other first class patrons are boarding the ship, I mimic the same gesture with Glimmer and guide her along as well.

Cato Williams shares the same hair color with his sister, but this is where the similarities end. His skin is just a shade darker than her milky white tone and his eyes are blue, a color that is nearly the same as mine. In fact, it seems him and I share more features than he does with Glimmer. My hair is also blonde, but longer as I let my curls fall over my forehead whenever my mother does not force me to slick it back. We share the same eye color, a cornflower blue that has become an inherent Mellark trait. We both have broad shoulders as well, but he stands about a quarter of a foot taller than me.

He is better than me though, a fact that my mother will never let me forget. Since my two older brothers grew up and moved away, Cato has become the standard to which she holds me to. I imagine she would have preferred to have him as a third son rather than me.

The first thing that hits me as we cross the threshold is the unmistakable scent of freshly cut wood, newly coated paint as well as furniture stain. It all smells so _new_.

The china has never been used; the sheets have never been slept in. Everything was tailor made for this ship in this moment.

It goes without saying that my awe only grows the further we move into the ship. First-class passengers have exclusive access to A deck, not that I care much about the perks that my status affords me. No one could ignore the elegance laid out before us though. My mother has bragged for the past several weeks leading up to this departure that Cato and Glimmer’s family were able to purchase several adjoining suites for our optimum comfort. I didn’t mention that the four of us could have easily had more than enough room in a single suite; I simply smiled graciously and showed my gratitude to their father.

Kenneth Williams is a notable businessman, having several footholds in the railroad industry. He has no shortage when it comes to funds when spoiling his children. I have not spoken to the man since asking his permission to marry his daughter before we embarked from America many weeks ago. He’s a kind man, even going so far as to call me ‘son’ after he gave me his blessing, but he would sooner put a bullet through my head if it meant his daughter’s happiness so I don’t tend to put much stock in his kindness. I’m wary of him, even more so than I am of his son.

Our suite is located on B deck and upon entry I remember my mother calling it the ‘Millionaire Suite’. The decoration—in Empire style—is borderline excessive in its opulence. The sitting room is large and I know from mother’s incessant chattering that there are also two bedrooms along with a suite bath and a wardrobe, but the most notable feature it the private promenade deck just outside.

“I don’t see why you were so insistent on buying those mud puddles.” I hear Glimmer’s voice as merely a buzzing in my ear before it comes into focus as my admiration of the lavish suite comes to an end. It is then that I notice the paintings I bought during our time in England and a smile pulls across my lips as I am reacquainted with them.

They’re by a man named Picasso, an artist still attempting to make a name for himself. He has taken his interest in art much farther than I have been able to. The first time my mother found some of my sketches when I was nearly fifteen years old she ripped them apart in my face. She said no man makes a living for himself by doodling. My father had still been alive then though and a few days after that incident he bought me a leather bound notebook, some charcoals, and told me to keep this a secret between us. To this day my mother still knows nothing of it, the notebook tucked away deeply in the recesses of my luggage.

“These paintings are fascinating. I should help you develop an appreciation for art dear.” I tell her.

“He’ll never amount to anything,” Cato says from behind me and I can’t rid myself of the sneaking suspicion that he is talking about more than just the painter.

“It smells so brand new. Like they built it all just for us. I mean… just to think that tonight, when I crawl between the sheets, I’ll be the first to ever use them,” my mother’s words bring me out of my haze.

“I know some others will be the first in a much different way,” Cato murmurs and my mother blushes at his innuendo. He is ready to make another comment, but is distracted when a man with black hair wheels his safe into the suite. “Ah, thank you Marvel. You can put that in the wardrobe.”

As Marvel follows his instructions Glimmer turns to her brother. “Why do you always insist upon carrying that safe wherever you go? What’s inside it?”

“Business.”

“For father?”

“Yes, for father.” He huffs. “All you have to worry about is looking pretty and let the men handle the business.” He eyes me for a second. “Well, certain men at least. You should go frolic with your fiancé.”

I decide to ignore Cato’s snub and reclaim Glimmer’s hand in mine before leading her back outside to walk her along the deck. I can hear the chatter coming from the ship’s bow as many of the passengers wave goodbye to the people below.

“My brother is such an ass,” Glimmer says and I don’t disagree with her, but from the look on her face no one would believe what she just said as truth. Her grin remains like nothing is wrong. “Oh Peeta, we should go down to the bow before the ship pulls off. It looks so lively down there.”

The majority of the passengers at the bow are third class. A mishmash of faces and accents that brings a smile to my face. There are so many children playing with each other or clasped tightly in the hands of a parent and the looks of awe scattered across all their faces makes me wonder if any of them have ever, even their parents, left their home countries.

There hasn’t been many times where I found myself around so many people who are of a lower class than myself. I was born with my status and that was pure chance. So many others were born without that into families that may not have had the most. This of course doesn’t mean that they are any less than the rest of us. My mother does not share this same opinion though and not unsurprisingly that is the sole reason I have been kept away. If she knew we were here right now it would earn me an earful about up keeping our family name.

My eyes are still sweeping across the people littering the dock when I catch sight of a certain smile that makes my breath stall in my chest. The woman who catches my eye has dark hair that falls in a braid down her back and she has light olive skin. Her smile isn’t even as wide as the others around her, it looks wary like it holds a cautious optimism. Somehow I know there is such a story behind that. The woman is stood next to a man nearly a foot taller than her. He shares the same features as her and I wonder if he could be a cousin or even a brother.

“There he goes into his head again,” Glimmer says and she smirks at me when I turn to her.

“It’s hard to stay focused around so much wonder.” She grips my hand tighter in response.

Dinner begins at the first signs of dusk and the majority of the ship’s first class passengers gather in the dining room on A deck. Once we are seated at our table, Glimmer on my left and my mother across from me, a woman whom I do not recognize joins us in the space beside my mother. I catch mother roll her eyes before she turns and addresses her.

“Ah, hello Mrs. Trinket.” At the name, a memory surfaces. Apparently her husband had struck gold someplace out west, and she was what my mother called _new money_. This wasn’t a surprise as it seemed she bore the product of her finery in excess with feathered hats and brightly colored wigs.

We weren’t the only ones seated at the table; in fact we shared it with a very notable family in the oil industry, the Undersees. I grew up with their daughter, Madge and perhaps she would have been the one my mother forced me to propose to if only Glimmer hadn’t have come along with her money bags in tote. I could tell my mother was not the only one who had this opinion on Mrs. Effie Trinket as I notice Mrs. Undersee as well as Glimmer wrinkle their noses in distaste. Only Madge and I remain impassive.

We’re on to the main course when we are joined by Cinna and Crane, the men responsible for the execution and design of the ship. Mr. Undersee greets them both with jovial shakes of their hands and Crane sits farther down the table while Cinna sits at the head of it, just a hairsbreadth away from me.

“How is everyone liking the Titanic,” he says the name with flare and I can tell just how proud he is of his accomplishment.

“It has been divine,” I tell the man. “The styles of all the rooms have not ceased to amaze me as they change from Louis XVI to Elizabethan to Empirical.”

“Thank you for noticing, though those were some of the easier choices once the ship itself was built.”

“The structure is extraordinary as well of course,” I appease. “This ship is enormous. I still wonder how it is it’s able to float.”

“That’s 52,000 tons. No small amount, but the hull is sturdy enough to keep us above water.” He explains. “Well anyway, I may have knocked her together, but the idea was Mr. Seneca Crane’s. He envisioned a steamer so grand in scale, and so luxurious in its appointments, that its supremacy would never be challenged. And here she is…willed into reality.”

“Why is it that ships are always called ‘she’? Is it because men think half the women around have big sterns and should be weighed in tonnage?” Effie interjects and Cinna lets out a bark of a laugh. “Just another example of men setting the rules their way.”

“So who came up with the name Titanic?” Effie adds just a beat later.

“I did,” Crane finally speaks up. “I wanted to convey sheer size. And size means stability, luxury…and safety.”

“Do you know Dr. Heavensbee? His ideas about the male preoccupation with _size_ might be of particular interest to you, Mr. Crane.” The words that come from Glimmer’s mouth make Mr. Crane choke on his wine and Mrs. Trinket cackles beside him. I spy Cato glaring at her though, but she doesn’t seem to notice.

“My God, Glimmer, what has gotten into you?” My mother calls, aghast. I can hear Cinna suppressing laughter from my right and I allow a small grin to rest on my lips. With all her attention focused on Glimmer, mother will not notice my amusement. I am reminded again why mother did not have to coerce me quite as hard when it came down to proposing to the woman beside me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm at electome.tumblr.com


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_Katniss_

Gale and I leave the deck just a while after the Titanic has made its last stop off the coast of Queenstown, Ireland.

“I can see the Statue of Liberty already,” Gale tells me before stepping away. “It’s very small of course,” he adds and I laugh.

We are both from New York. We grew up in the same tenement though I believe his family had it worse than mine. Growing up with four people squeezed into one room is far better than six crammed into a room of the exact same size. New York is such a crowded state that there is barely any room to house all of its inhabitants. A few hundred people live in the same tenement as I do and it would have been worse if it weren’t for new laws put in place that require a certain standard of living. There has to be at least one window in each room and landlords were no longer allowed to ridiculously overcrowd them. But still it made for cheap housing for my family so we stayed there.

My father, Reed Everdeen, immigrated from Germany at the end of 1891. He had no idea what was in store for him in America, but he came anyway. He was always prone to risk taking. A young man of only twenty years and with no more than change in his pocket told himself that he had a better chance for life in America rather than his home country.

He met my mother, Violet, only a few months after settling in. He lived in a tenement with a few people that he grew up with, some that accompanied him on his travels and others who made the journey months before he did.

Of the people who traveled with him were his best friend and his wife, Gale’s parents—the Hawthorne’s. She was already pregnant with him when they began their journey and he’s lucky that he survived.

My father was fortunate to find a relatively easy job delivering supplies to different businesses. My mother was the daughter of a notable apothecary. They weren’t wealthy by any means, but they were well-off.

They started fraternizing behind her father’s back. It started off as just a casual greeting whenever my father would go into the shop. Later, they began to have longer and longer conversations. As my father told it, he was completely taken by her. She didn’t want anything to do with him though, not in the beginning. She knew her father would disapprove so she stayed away in every way that she could. But she was kind and she never denied him his pleasantries. But she eventually fell for his smile and his kind eyes as she tells it. She figured what her father didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him and eventually her.

They were dating secretly for over a year and a half before her father found out. And not in the way that either of them would have imagined. By the end of 1893 my parents were in love and my mother was pregnant with me, but she still withheld that information for as long as she could. She was well into her second trimester when he found out and that was only because she started to show. By this time, my father was fed up. He wanted to tell her father the truth from the beginning, but she was afraid. And it proved that she had a valid reason to be afraid because once he found out he disowned her.

Without that safety net that her parents offered, my mother was penniless. She was forced to move into the cramped tenement with my father and his friends until he could afford to get them their own.

Gale’s parents had already moved out probably about a year before any of this happened. They had a screaming baby to take care of and did not want to bother their roommates with the noise. They were only able to afford it because Gale’s father, Rudy Hawthorne, found work at a steel mill. With his previous job, even with his wife, Hazelle, they did not make enough money to afford their own room. Work at the mill was tough, so strenuous that he would come home bone tired more often than not, but the pay made up for that.

He helped my father find work at the same mill and by the time I was born, my parents had their own room right across from the Hawthorne’s.

Growing up in that tenement wasn’t so bad. I had Gale and eventually Prim to keep my life busy. My parents were happy and they were in love, even through tough times, and their bond didn’t weaken.

It wasn’t until Gale’s father and mine died in an accident at the steel mill that everything in my life changed. My mother changed, she withdrew into herself. Everything that I was once content with had been turned on its head. I was eleven when that happened.

To Hazelle’s credit, her husband’s death didn’t make her check out like my mother. She had four kids to take care of So instead of breaking down, she toughened up. She worked with what she and Rudy had saved up and what little money she could make from her laundering business and she was able to keep her family afloat. At times she was even able to help mine.

Before my father's death, my mother had been running a small apothecary business with the knowledge that she’d gleaned while growing up. The business was so small, I don’t even think it could have been considered as such, but it helped when working at the mill wasn’t earning my family enough.

Living in a tenement could be very unsafe. Every year or so there could be a breakout of some disease. And when one person gets it, everyone does. Way before I was born and the Tenement House Act was passed, a cholera epidemic killed thousands of people living in situations like ours.

This hadn’t happened at that scale in years, but people still got sick with the common cold and smaller sicknesses like that and when they did they all came to my mother for help. Usually she could handle any of these, and for a while after my father’s death, these were the only times where I thought I saw any semblance of who my mother used to be.

  
When my sister got sick though, that all changed. For once my mother was faced with a patient who she could not treat, someone who required treatment beyond her means, and that was her own daughter. This was nearly six years after my father’s passing. I tally the months on my fingers, my sister died nearly one year ago today.

It started off as a simple cold, none of us were worried, my mother least of all. It didn’t get any better though, weeks passed and she only got worse. I’d hold her hand at night when it got really bad. We talked for hours until she’d lose her energy and fall asleep. She told me about her friends, how she was the one who secretly cleaned the dust off of our father’s old shaving mirror because he’d hated the layer grime that seemed to cover everything in the tenement, she told me about her crush on Rory, Gale’s little brother.

When she died I felt like a part of me went with her. I finally understood how my mother felt all those years ago.

Except this time her grief was tenfold. She didn't speak to me or anyone for that matter anymore. After that happened, Hazelle all but took us in. Before I left, my mother was basically living with them, under Hazelle's care.

“Katniss?” Gale pulls me away from my thoughts. “Where did you go?

“Nowhere.”

  
Gale knows about all of this of course, he was there. We don't talk about it, he just understands.

We follow the wave of our fellow third class passengers to the lower decks. I’ve learned that there are over a thousand of us, just traveling third class. I can’t imagine how many people the ship is carrying total. This ship is massive though so I know there are at least a few thousand.

Our cabin isn't large, it’s meant to house four people with a sink between the two bunk beds. When we get there, there are already two men unpacking their bags. They speak to each other in Swedish and look at the two of us in confusion.

“I think they’re looking for their friends,” Gale whispers to me. My eyes widen with the realization, but it makes sense. The four of them must have had plans. I can’t help but feel a little remorse.

Eventually the men quiet down and go back to unpacking and I look to the small satchel I’ve kept at my waist since leaving my home. There isn’t much in there, maybe one change of clothes, a few personal effects that I’ve collected in the last few months, and an old silver locket that was once my mother’s. She gave it to Prim when she got sick and it was around her neck when she died.

I decide against unpacking and tuck my bag underneath my bunk, but not before removing the locket and tucking it safely in my pocket.

“So what now?” I ask Gale.

“We can do whatever we want.” He pauses for a moment as he thinks. “I heard some people talking. There’s a bit of a get together in the general room. People celebrating.”

“Well let's go,” I say to him, ready to do something and clear my head.

Navigating through the halls is nothing short of daunting. The passageway is extremely narrow with people littering both sides of it, trying to move their parties inside their cabins.

The general room is full of people ranging from lone travelers to young couples to full families, the children chasing each other and playing games at their parents’ feet. People from nearly every edge of Europe crowd this ship.

And I can hear it in the confusing hodgepodge of accents and see it in the host of differing features. As I’m sweeping the crowd in front of me, my eyes catch on to a man staring at me and he grins once he sees I’ve noticed.

The man is tall with wild red hair and a scruffy beard. My heartbeat picks up just a bit when he starts to make his way towards me, two tall glasses of amber liquid in his hands.

I look at Gale over my shoulder and see he’s noticed the man’s advances as well, he crosses his arms over his chest and I roll my eyes at his response.

The man smiles when he finally makes it to me, handing me one of the glasses and I just eye it distrustfully once it's in my grasp. “Hello, miss.” His accent is thick, Irish.

“Hello.” He’s handsome I suppose, but in a lazy sort of way. It looks as if he just threw his clothes onto his frame and ran his fingers through his hair when he got dressed this morning, declaring himself ready for the day.

“Is that an American accent I hear?”

“It sure is.”

“Tell me, how is it over there? Is it like everyone says?”

I hesitate for a minute. Knowing that America isn't perfect and his struggles aren't over once he makes it there. But I don't want to dash a dream he’s probably had for years. Who knows, the life he begins in the west may be better than the one he has lead as of yet. “It's amazing.” Once I see the simple, happy smile that graces his features I know I’ve said the right thing. I take a sip of the beer in my hand.

“Are you harassing this lovely lady, Darius?” Another man comes from behind him and throws an arm around his shoulders and I can hear Darius groan even over the din in the room.

His friend is conventionally attractive and I think he knows it by the smug smile on his face. He has bronze hair and from what I can see, his eyes are green.

“Feel free to walk away at any time,” Darius says.

“Don't scare her away now.”

“Oh trust me, if she’s still around now this girl is tough as nails.” Darius smirks at me and I can hear Gale snort from my side.

“I’m Finnick,” he finally says, reaching a hand out to me then Gale. “You’ll find that I’m much better looking than my friend here.”

“Yes and much more married.” At the exact time Darius chooses to say this I’m taking another sip of my beer and I choke on it. Even if I have only known this man for a few seconds, I would never have guessed this development.

“Annie knew what she was getting herself into. She also knows that she has my heart.”

“Yes my sister is obviously a little messed up in the head to willingly deal with this.” He gestures to Finnick, but his words are directed at me. Neither of them look crossed or annoyed so I can tell that this banter is somethings that the two share quite often.

We stay in the general room for a few more hours. Eventually, Gale abandons his overprotective attitude and stops standing like a sentinel over my shoulder. I grin once I notice he’s finally loosened up. I meet Annie, Finnick’s wife and she is just the polar opposite of her husband. Quiet and reserved where her husband is boisterous. Her hair is a softer red than her brother’s and her eyes are green like Finnick’s. Her frame is slight, making the small bump of her belly stand out even more. She’s pregnant with her and Finnick's first child.

I meet Johanna after Gale has been talking to her for at least half an hour. She’s from Germany and she's traveling alone. She has dark hair and brown eyes and it looks as if her face is set in a permanent frown, except of course when she's teasing someone.

I finally speak to one of the men that I recognize from our cabin. His name is Thom. He has flaxen hair with pale blue eyes and freckles. I tell him about what exactly happened to his friends and he just lets out a rough bark of a laugh.

“Brutus is a swine. Very hotheaded and extremely impulsive. I’m not surprised at all that that's how that happened.”

Delly Cartwright is Thom’s girlfriend, the two so similar in features that they could be siblings. But there’s something about the woman that gives me pause. Her hair is almost the exact same shade as my sister’s and it is even fashioned in two braids that fall over her shoulders, a style Prim often wore. She’s so kind and it's a little heartbreaking to listen to because it reminds me so much of my dead little sister that I have to take a step back.

Delly notices the change in my disposition, but I wave her off and make my way towards the door of the general room. I make eye contact with Gale for a second and I know he can tell something’s wrong, but I just stare at him, pleading silently with my eyes that I just need some time alone, some space to get my thoughts together. When he finally nods like he understands I sigh a breath of relief.

The hallway is much less crowded than it was a few hours ago and I'm thankful for that. But it still feels stuffy and I feel as if the hall gets narrower the farther I travel down it.

Prim was the happiest child to watch grow up. From the moment she was born, I called her mine even though I was merely four myself. We didn't even look alike. Her fair hair, blue eyes, and pale skin matched our mother's exactly while my darker features were the picture of our father’s.

After our father died and our mother checked out we grew even closer. For the next few years, I was the only constant in her life until mother finally began to pull herself out of her depression.

I was the one that helped her with school and encouraged her to stay in even after I dropped out. I was her confidant and she was mine, but I think she was better at advice than I was. I loved my little sister more than anyone else in the world.

Primrose was only thirteen when pneumonia took her life.

I'm not sure exactly when or how I ended up back on the deck, but this time near the stern of the ship. It’s dark out so it's completely deserted. I'm grateful for the silence and the open air. I wrap my fingers around the railing and for the first time I notice that my heart is racing and no matter how many breaths I try to take in, it doesn't slow. I now realize the deep breaths I thought I was taking resemble hyperventilating more than anything.

I never lost hope watching her lay there in our bed even as she got worse. I held her hand when harsh coughs would rack her body and I hugged her when she cried because it hurt so much. I never lost hope though and I never stopped wishing that I could take her place. She was too vibrant and her life had too much hope to be lost like that.

When she was finally lost I didn't break down, not right away. I went up to the roof and had a cigarette with Gale. He tried to talk to me, to comfort me, but I just brushed him off.

No, I didn't break down until a few days later when I came home and she wasn't there to greet me with one of her bright smiles that never dimmed even as she got sicker. My mother was quiet sitting upright in a chair and I couldn't shake how empty my life had suddenly become. I went back up to the roof that day trying to get away from that room and that feeling, but I couldn't shake it. My eyes burned from the tears and my face was red and I just remember pacing up and down the length of the roof wishing that it was me. That it was me. That it was  _me_.

I feel all of that now and I dig my hand I into my pocket and brush my fingers over the locket there. I pull it out and put it over my head and around my neck. I know inside there is a picture of my father.

Looking over the edge of the railing, I don't know why but I can finally feel my heartbeat slow. I think of my father and my sister and how peaceful it would be to join them once again.

Nothing's left for me here anyway.

I throw one leg over the railing and use that leverage to bring the other one over as well. The sea is so dark it looks nearly black, the color almost matching the dark sky. All I can hear is the water rushing in my ears. The stars are extremely bright without the cloud of pollution and the city lights. I’m mesmerized by the moon. It’s bright, only half of it showing while the other half remains dark.

I'm still staring when I hear a voice from behind me and it startles me and I almost let go of the rail before I’m ready.

“Are you alright?” It's a man’s voice.

I let out a deep breath before loosening my grip on the railing, not prepared to speak to this man. I’m in a hurry to end it.

I feel him grab my arm and I startle once again. “What are you doing?” My voice is harsh when I speak.

“Don't do it.”

“Get back.” I can feel my voice wavering and my lips trembling. I didn't notice until now that I'm crying. “Please.”

“Just give me your hand and I’ll pull you back over.”

“No,” I whisper.

“You don't want to do that.”

“You know nothing about me.”

“But if you really wanted to jump you would've done it already.” It's then that I turn my head and my eyes finally meet his. They're blue, just like Prim’s. And his hair is blonde. Just like Prim’s. I let out another breath and face the water once again.

“Because you're a distraction. Just leave me  _please_.”

“I can't. I'm involved now. If you let go I’ll have to jump in there after you.” He may mean well but his presence is serving no purpose but to grate on my nerves. The quiet serenity I felt up here is gone.

“I don't think that's the best idea. You’ll drown.”

“Oh I'm not concerned. I'm a good swimmer.”

“The fall alone would kill you.”

“It would hurt. I'm not saying it wouldn't. To tell you the truth I’m a lot more concerned about that water being so cold.”

I don't turn around. My eyes are still focused on the sea below me.

“Have you ever been to Wisconsin? They have some of the coldest winters there. I went there with my father, some of the best memories I have.”

“Your father?”

“Yes. Would you like to hear more about him?”

I don't know why I nod.

“He was a baker. Not professionally, but I’m sure if he had his way he would have been. I’m the youngest of three boys and once my brothers grew up and moved away, we got really close. Even before that though, I’ve always wanted to be like him so I attempted to bake a batch of his favorite bread. I burned it black.” He laughs at himself.

There's only one word I latch onto through his anecdote, however.  _Was_.

“When did he die?”

“About four years ago.”

I nod. A beat passes before I choose to speak again. “Mine is dead too.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“My sister is too.”

“What was her name?”

“Primrose.”

“That's beautiful. But do you really think this is what your father and Primrose would want you to do?”

“I'm not sure what they’d want me to do.”

“They’d probably want you to live. So there's someone left to remember them. So you can make the most of your chance at life.”

I’m silent for a long time and I realize I’d forgotten about his hand on my forearm until he squeezes it in his grasp.

“What's your name?”

“Katniss,” I whisper.

“Nice to meet you Katniss. I'm Peeta.”

“Just let me go.”

“I can't.”

“Why?” I growl, the first time my voice has risen above a whisper since he arrived.

“Because I know your name now which means we're friends and I’m not going to let a friend jump. Please…just come back over.”

I look at the water again. I see nothing but that deep, inky blue. I see nothing. My family isn't down there. “Will you help me?” My voice is small, pathetic.

“Of course I will.”

I turn around carefully, both hands still on the railing. Peeta resettles his hand on my arm and puts the other around my waist before he carefully pulls me back over.

My heart is racing again but for a completely different reason.

“Thank you, Peeta.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, I'm back. How are you?


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

_Peeta_

She’s the girl from the deck earlier, the same girl that caught my eye.

She’s beautiful.

Katniss had her hand gripping my forearm and it was shaking slightly, so I put my mine over hers.

“You’re cold.” I pulled off my coat and wrapped it around. Nights at sea can get extremely bitter.

“What’s going on here?” My head snaps toward the voice. I step away from the girl when Cato appears, looming before me. Marvel is close behind him.

“What do you want, Cato?”

“I asked a question that I intend to get an answer for.”

“I was helping her.” I tell him.

“Helping her in what way exactly? You’re engaged to my sister Peeta. Do not give me a reason to dislike you.”

Katniss’s eyes bulged and she turns her gaze to floor.

“She was leaning over the railing and she slipped…” I look at Katniss, hoping for some help with my alibi.

She peeked up at me, swiping some hair behind her ear that the wind shifted across her face. “Um, yes. I was leaning far over to see the…um.”

“Propellers!”

“Yes, the propellers. And I helped her back up.”

“Women and machinery do not mix, it’s common knowledge.” Marvel says. A sly smile crosses over his lips when he looks at her. Stalking her like prey.

Cato looks skeptical. “Is that the way of it?” He asks me. I nod.

“The boy’s a hero!” Marvel boasts.

“You must be a very curious girl. To wander up to this deck at night by yourself, so far away from your kind.” Cato adds.

“What exactly is my kind?”

“Oh you know, third class.” He spits out the word like he is swearing. “Shouldn’t you be below deck with the rats?”

“Cato,” I warn.

He raises and eyebrow, but doesn’t turn his gaze away from Katniss. “What is it Peeta? She’s vermin and she knows it.”

“I’d rather be vermin that anything like you.” Katniss replies.

“You should watch your mouth.” He raises a hand to her face, but hovers it there near her chin, never actually touching her. “You wouldn’t want me to ruin that pretty face of yours.” She bites her lip to keep from uttering anything else. “Peeta can I speak with you in private?” Katniss takes that opportunity to slip away. I can’t blame her, but I don’t want her to leave. But she is gone, taking away even the trace of her shadow.

Marvel stays, but with one look from Cato he is slithering away as well.

“Rubbing up with the third class, are we?”

“It isn’t like that Cato, I only just met her.”

“What difference does that make.” He looks genuinely dumbfounded. “Look, I couldn’t care less about your romantic interests even if you and Glimmer are betrothed, a man has his needs of course. I would expect you to find a woman of higher class, however.” He taps his finger on his chin and I have to clench my fist to keep from lashing out. “What about that Madge Undersee, the poor woman is alone anyway. But one thing about third class women is there is a lesser chance of scandal.”

“Why do you care what I’m doing. And I was not fraternizing with her nor do I plan to do so with her or anyone else. I will be faithful to your sister.”

“We’re soon to be brother in laws, but more importantly we’re both men. And I respect a man that goes after what he wants.”

I can’t deny that I do want her, but I could never do that to Glimmer.

“What were the two of you doing here anyway?”

“Oh, just a midnight stroll. As I’m sure you were doing on your way to meet with her. Keep up the good work, Peeta.” He begins to walk away, but he says one more thing, “I’ll be sure to tell your mother of your heroism. You should invite the girl to dinner, show her around the high life.”

 

_Katniss_

It took every all of my strength not to slap the man, Cato, as Peeta had called him. It wouldn’t be the first time that I’d hit a man. When Gale and I first came to Southampton there was a man who was probably drunk who put his hand on my rear and I punched him in the jaw.

“Where did you go?” Gale asks when I arrive back at our cabin. He’s lying in bed. His face flushed red from the alcohol and he has a content smile on his lips which I attribute to the alcohol as well. But beneath that I can tell he was worried about me, but he knows me well enough to respect my space.

“I was on the deck, looking at the stars.”

“Is everything alright?”

“It is. I was thinking about Prim, but I’m better now.” Thanks to Peeta.

“Who’s coat is that?” I look down at my torso. I’d completely forgotten about his coat. I was in too much of a hurry to get away from that blonde man and his snickering friend.

“No ones.”

“It’s pretty luxurious. Like first class luxurious. I thought your morals were too strict to resort to thievery.” He stands and runs his hand along the length of my arm.

“You know I’m no thief. I was cold and I met someone nice.”

“Was this nice person a man?”

“Yes.”

“Was he a man that happened to be of higher status than ourselves?”

“Yes.”

“Specifically, is this status you speak of first class?”

I sigh. “Yes.”

He may have been acting a little playful, but now that I’ve confirmed his suspicions, he sobers slightly. “Katniss, what are you doing?”

“I’m not doing anything.”

“Why are you fraternizing with the first class? Men like that only have one interest with girls like you.”

“What exactly am I, Gale?” I bite out.

“I don’t mean it like that and you know it. I’m worried about you. I don’t want you to get swept up in the extravagance.”

“When have I ever?”

“Well, this is the first time anything like this has come up.”

“Exactly, Gale! So why are you being so unreasonable. I hardly know him. We talked and now it’s over. I’ll probably never see him again.”

“Except to return his coat.”

“What?”

“His coat. Like you said, you’re no thief.”

 

* * *

 

I had no idea how I was going to find Peeta. I never planned on exploring the decks meant exclusively for first class and I would probably be reviled for it if I even tried. I had already been called vermin for being near someone of a higher status, so I do not quite like my chances.

The next day, I went back up to the deck where I’d seen Peeta. There were few patrons milling about, many children running around and clinging on to one another.

I’m not wearing the coat, but I have it slung over my forearm.

“What are you doing here again, miss?” I look toward the voice. The man is the same one from last night, but not the one that called me vermin. His dark-haired friend.

“I am looking for someone, not that it is any of your business.”

“It is when you’re on the wrong part of the ship. I’m sure anyone you would need to find wouldn’t be here.” He moves closer to me and flicks my braid over my shoulder. His eyes move to the coat in my arms. “What’s this?” He snatches it before I can get my bearings.

He looks in the folds of the coat, smirking once he’s found what he’s looking for. “Peeta Mellark? This explains a lot. Why you were with him. Women like you only want one thing from an upstanding man.”

“I was returning it,” I grit my teeth.

“Were you? We’ll see what Mr. Mellark has to say about that.” He grabs my arm, but I yank it from his grasp. “Where do you think you’re going you filthy rat?” He yanks my arm back into his grasp, squeezing my wrist to the point of pain. “We have a thief. Thief!”

Another man approaches us, a worker with a long coat on and a hat that reads ‘Whit Star Line.’ “What is going on here? What has she stolen?”

“This coat here from a Mr. Peeta Mellark.” He doesn’t question the man and pulls out a set of hand cuffs from his pocket.

 “What are you doing?” I’m panicking now. “I’ve done nothing wrong!” I don’t care that I’m drawing attention to myself and that there are parents pulling away the children that were once playing so carelessly on the deck.

The metal is cold around my wrists and this certainly isn’t how I imagined this day going. I don’t know what to do. When it’s my word against his, I would never have any leverage.

It was then that Peeta wandered onto the deck. My eyes caught his from the other side of it. There was a woman wrapped around his arm. She was pretty, petite and she gripped his arm tightly. He pulls his arm away from her though and began to make his way over.

“What’s happened?”

“Ah, Mr. Mellark. I believe this is yours.” The dark-haired man hands the coat to Peeta.

“Yes.” He furrows his brow. “I still don’t understand why this woman is in handcuffs.”

“She is charged with stealing your coat.”

“She didn’t steal it. I leant it to her.”

“Is this really true? Was that the way of it?” The worker looks at Peeta, waiting for him to confirm his answer. He nods. He removes the handcuffs from around my wrists and moves on to other, more pressing matters on the ship.

“Darling, who is this?” The woman asks.

“This is Katniss…”

“Everdeen,” I fill in the silence. “Katniss Everdeen.”

“And how did you and…Katniss meet?”

He sighs. He’d only been looking at me since he first came over and it was at this point that he shifted his gaze away. “Just last night, we were talking and we became…fast friends. Katniss this is Glimmer, my fiancé.”

I completely forgot that the blonde man, _Cato,_ I remind myself said Peeta was engaged…to his sister. I swallow thickly and turn my gaze to meet hers. “It is nice to meet you Glimmer.”

“I’m sure.”

“Marvel, we will need to speak about how you have treated Ms. Everdeen.” Peeta tells the man.

“You know well that the only person I answer to is Mr. Williams, Peeta.” He sniffs, but before shuffling away he turns to Glimmer, “Your brother is looking for you. He says it’s urgent.”

She rolls her eyes. “I’ll see you later. I must see what brother dearest is complaining about this time.” She kisses Peeta on the cheek and walk away with Marvel.

I can see a muscle in Peeta’s jaw tick as he clenches it. “I apologize for all this.”

“I only wanted to be sure that I returned your coat.”

“Yes, thank you. I really appreciate it.” He’s quiet for a moment. “Would you consider joining us for dinner tonight? To repay you for all you’ve gone through.”

That doesn’t sound like the best idea. “I’m not sure.”

“Please? It will be grand. I warn you that I am not above begging.” I bite my lip.

“Peeta—”

“Please?”

“I don’t—”

“Please?”

I sigh.

“I want to make it up to you, Katniss.”

The truth is that I’m afraid of going anywhere near this high life. I am nothing like them and that fact will probably be glaringly obvious to anyone who bothers to pay attention. “I won’t fit in.”

“I’ll see to it that you will.” He offers his arm to me. “Have a walk with me?” I slip my arm through it and he guides me away.

“So Katniss, I want to get to know you better.”

“What do you want to know?”

“What’s your favorite color?”

“So we’re starting with the deep stuff?”

“No need in superficial conversation.”

I laugh. “It’s green. Like the forest. Growing up we lived in tenement housing in the middle of a dense city so it wasn’t often that I would get to see that much greenery. Sometimes when my father had time to spare or days off work, he’d take my sister and me to the outskirts of the city. There was a pond there and we’d sit and have picnic and play in the water.” I didn’t expect to say all that, but the memory captivated me. “What’s yours?”

“Orange like the sunset. I’m a painter, you see and the sunset is my favorite thing to study. The color I adore most is of course the orange, but there are so many more shades of yellow, blue, and magenta. It takes my breath away.”

“Your art must be very important to you.”

“It is. I know I’ve already expressed my passion for sunsets, but people are the most difficult and consequently the most rewarding things to capture. My family was traveling in Paris last year and I met this woman. I called her Madame Bijoux. She used to sit at this bar every night wearing every piece of jewelry she owned just waiting for her long-lost love.”

“That’s a talent, Peeta. You see people.”

“I see you.”

“And?”

“You wouldn’t have jumped. You’re too strong for that.”

My heart stalls in my chest for a moment and I have to breathe past it. “Thank you, Peeta.” I whisper.

“No need. Keeping you around is my gift to the world.”

“Peeta!” We both look in the direction that the voice came from. A small, middle aged woman is making her way toward us. Her hair is a short blonde; it actually appears slightly brittle. Her eyes are a watery blue and she is dressed in fine clothing, white silk.

“Hello, mother.” The woman eyes me. I can’t even imagine what I must look like with my arm wrapped through Peeta’s. I’m grungy with week old clothing on and a messy braid and I’m wearing _pants_. Peeta is dressed in what could probably be considered casual clothing for his status, but he looked well put together. No stains or wrinkles in his shirt, not a hair out of place.

Not to mention Peeta is _engaged_. I pull my arm away from his and step over to the side. I can’t imagine what his mother thinks of me in this moment.

“Who is this?”

“Mother, this is Katniss Everdeen.”

I cough to clear my throat. “Nice to meet you Mrs. Mellark.”

“Charmed, I’m sure.” She’s looking at me like I’m an insect, a dangerous insect that needed to be squashed quickly.

There were two other women with Mrs. Mellark and Peeta took no time in introducing them to me as well. “Katniss, this is Mrs. Undersee and Mrs. Trinket.” The latter woman looked almost gaudy in her adornments. I nod at them.

I startle at the trumpet fanfare that comes from somewhere on the ship, I have no idea where.

“Why do they always insist on announcing dinner like a damn cavalry charge?” Mrs. Trinket complains and I have to bite my lip to keep a chuckle from leaking out.

“We should all get ready,” Peeta says. “Mother, I have invited Katniss to share this meal with us.”

“How nice,” She speaks, but from her tone I can tell that it is anything but. She walks away with Mrs. Undersee, leaving just me and Peeta and a very eager Mrs. Trinket.

“Mrs. Trinket, I need your help.”

“Ask away my dear boy.”

“Could you help Katniss get ready for tonight?” I worry my lip. None of this sits well.

“Of course, I’d love to.” Her voice is light and fluttery, like butterfly wings.

“Thank you,” Peeta smiles. He looks at me and says, “Everything will be fine. I’ll see you at dinner.”

Once he’s gone Mrs. Trinket turns to me. “Do you have any idea what you’re doing?”

“No clue,” I blurt out.

“You’re about to go into the snake pit, my dear. I’ll see to it that you at least look the part.”

She takes me back to her quarters. She has several trunks lined against the walls and she stands before all of them for a few minutes, tapping her finger on her chin. She pulls out one closer to the end and begins digging through its contents. “Aha! I’ve found it. This is perfect.” She turns around and shows me this midnight blue dress.

“That’s beautiful.”

“Well of course it is. Now, we just have to do something with that hair. And you should probably bathe first.”

It takes nearly an hour of prepping by Mrs. Trinket before she announces that she is finished. She pulls me in front of a full-length mirror and I gasp. I’ve never looked like this before. The dress is stunning and the color reflects off the gray in my eyes. She’s applied minimal makeup to my face, but enough that it makes my skin glow and my hair is shiny and soft to the touch and falls in a wave down my back. “You look beautiful dear. Now that you look the part, you need to remember a few important rules because Mrs. Mellark is not one to be trifled with and she can ruin you before they even serve the first course.”

She pushes me toward the sofa in the middle of the room and sits down next to me, putting a hand over mine. “I understand that you do not come from a wealthy background.” I turn my gaze to the floor, but she grips at my chin, forcing me to look her in the eye. “First lesson, never turn away first. Now, I was like you once. I lived with my father and travelled with him as he tried to find odd jobs that would pay for the next meal. When you come from that you realize just how trite these high-class people can be, but you must play the game.”

She goes on to tell me rules about which utensils to use at which points in the meal, reminds me to sit up straight, and has to tell me several times to keep eye contact even when I feel inferior.

“You’re a beautiful girl and might I add you have a much better personality than that Glimmer girl.”

“But she’s Peeta’s fiancé. I have no interest in him in that way anyway.”

“I don’t want to infer, but these things have a way of sneaking up on us.”

“I don’t know how to that you, Mrs. Trinket.”

“No thanks necessary. I enjoy these kinds of things. And you can call me Effie, dear.” I smile at her. “You shine up like a new penny.”

 

* * *

 

I’m overwhelmed with the grandeur of the dining room. The doors are opened for me by two men in tuxedoes and when it all opens up before me my knees get a little wobbly and I struggle not to fall in my heels. I am on the balcony and just above me there is a globe shaped skylight that takes up most of the ceiling. The banisters are made of a finely polished wood with ornate etchings engraved in them.

A clock rests on the wall just before the staircase which leads down to where dinner is being served and I slowly take to the stairs one at a time, hoping not to slip on the marble.

Once I reach the bottom, I spot Peeta immediately. His eyes are wide and his mouth is slightly agape. “Katniss.”

“Hello, Peeta.”

“You look beautiful.”

I feel the blush on my cheeks. “Thank you.” He takes my hand and lays a kiss on the back of it then offers me his arm and I take it.

He leads me over to where Glimmer and Cato as well as his mother are in a cluster talking. “I’d like to reintroduce you all to Katniss.”

Cato barks out a laugh. “Amazing! You almost look like a lady.”

“Almost.” I agree.

Once we’re seated at a table with Peeta’s party as well as Effie and Mrs. Undersee and her family the servers begin to pass out drinks. I’m startled when Mrs. Mellark sets her sights on me. “Tell us of the accommodations in steerage Ms. Everdeen. I hear that their quite good on this ship.”

She was obviously trying to rattle my nerves. But, I decided to heed Effie’s advice to not give in first. My father always did call me stubborn. “The best I’ve seen, ma’am. Contrary to what many people believe there are hardly any rats.” I subtly directed the last part of that sentence toward Cato.

He notices of course and speaks up. “Ms. Everdeen is joining us from third class.”

“She doesn’t look third class to me,” Effie says.

Everyone begins taking their napkins and spreading them across their laps so I do the same. I eye all the silverware before me and I can’t recall anything Effie told me about them. She’s sitting next to me and notices my predicament. “Just start from the outside and make your way in,” she whispers.

A server stands next to me and drops a spoonful of some black substance onto my plate. “How do you take you caviar, ma’am?”

“No caviar for me thanks, I’ve never liked it much,” I lie. The stuff looks incredibly unappetizing though. I thought being rich meant you could eat the good food.

“Where exactly do you live Ms. Everdeen?” Mrs. Mellark asks me.

“If you’re asking where I’m from then that is New York, but right now I live on the RMS Titanic. Once we dock the rest will be determined from there.”

“How is it that you have means to travel?”

“My friend and I travel together. The two of us work odd jobs, earning a few pennies here and there. It doesn’t seem like much, but it’s gotten us this far. I actually won my ticket for titanic. It was lucky hand at poker. I didn’t even know how to play the game, but some things have a way of working out.”

“It seems that all life is a game of luck,” Peeta says, sending a grin in my direction.

“And you find that sort of rootless existence appealing, do you?” She adds.

“I do, actually. Or else I wouldn’t be doing it. I’ve learned to take life as it comes at me. To make each day count.”

Peeta raises his champagne glass. “To making it count.” Everyone else at the table affirms this sentiment and I raise my glass as well.

At the end of the dinner, Mr. Undersee rises. “Well, join me in a brandy gentlemen?” They all rise. “Ladies thank you for the pleasure of your company.”

“Will you be joining us, Peeta?” Mr. Undersee asks him. “You don’t want to stay out here with the women, do you?” He chuckles heartily.

“No thanks, Mr. Undersee.”

“It’s probably best,” Cato tell him. “It’ll be all business and politics. It wouldn’t interest you, Peeta. You should stay out here and appease your fiancé.” He follows the rest of the men out.

I take that opportunity to make my escape as well. “I should be going as well. It was nice meeting all of you.”

“Lovely to meet you as well, dear.” Effie says.

Peeta stands and walks over to me. Taking my hand delicately and laying another kiss on the back of it. There is something in his hand though and transfers it to mine before taking his hand away. “Have a good night, Katniss.”

“Thank you, Peeta.”

I am back near the entrance of the dining room when I look at what he’s left in my hand. It’s a crumpled piece of paper. When I unfold it, there lies a message in his small, neat script:

_Meet me at the clock._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Prompts in Panem aka PiP for this chapter. I've been so busy this semester that I've had no time or motivation for it, but it gave me the motivation to make time (which included me staying up until 6:00 A.M.). Thanks to everyone that's still reading!


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